The Day They Remembered
by Chimalmaht
Summary: [CATS fic] Dueteronomy isn't who the Jellicles thought he was. They aren't who they thought they were either. My first fic, written as a school assignment.
1. Prologue

Tony jumped off the swing at the park. He ran into the grass and began picking clovers and dandelions for his mother. Glancing up, he saw she was sitting on a bench reading the newspaper.  
"Good," Tony whispered to himself. "Now she'll be surprised!" Surprising his mommy was always fun. He loved to hear her laugh and then hug him with joy. He giggled excitedly. Tony looked around for any flowers he might have missed. A lone, white daisy was growing in front of a man sitting on a bench. It was the prettiest flower in the whole park. He knew his mom would love it. Still, he wasn't sure if he should pick it. He didn't like strangers. Tony hesitated before slowly crawling on his hands and knees to the flower. His arm extended, but before the flower was plucked, the man on the bench grabbed Tony.  
"Kitty! I've been looking for you," the man exclaimed, looking at Tony. Fear washed over the 5-year-old boy. He wasn't a cat. Tony looked at the blonde-headed stranger with wide green eyes. Before he could scream for his mommy, Tony was carried swiftly away from the park under the arm of the man. The flowers fell from Tony's hand as the blue eyed man ran away with him. 


	2. Chapter 1: 8 years later

A/N : I apoligize for short chapters! I think it'll get better. The rest of the story should be up in a couple of days!

Victoria whispered, "Wake up! It's time to get your name!" The kitten she was whispering to woke abruptly, his dream fading as each second passed. He had never had a name before and was excited that this was the day he would finally get one. Now he would finally be able to have a conversation with his best friends, Alonzo and Pouncival, with out being addressed as "You", or "Hey".  
Jumping up, the nameless tuxedo kitten ran after the beautiful white kitten to where Old Deuteronomy, their leader, was waiting for him. The kitten sat eagerly in front of the wise cat. Victoria sneaked away, knowing this ceremony was between the kitten and the leader.  
"Hello child." Deuteronomy smiled at the boy, who grinned back widely. "I see you're excited to be here." The kitten nodded his head, a bit embarrassed that he was that readable. "Well, then we won't hesitate any longer. After much consideration, I have decided that your new name will be Mistoffelees." Mistoffelees smiled. He loved that name. He ran off to tell his friends what his new name was. When he turned around to tell Deuteronomy thanks, the old cat was scratching his face. When he took his paw away, half of his face no longer looked like a cat's face. Mistoffelees watched him hurriedly rush away. 


	3. Chapter 2

  
Tony was meeting his dad for the first time. He was excited. The only older guys he had had in his life were his moms boyfriends. But they always left after awhile. Really, it had only been his mom around. He knocked boldly on the white door and stood on the cement stoop, smiling, waiting for his dad to open the door. He scuffed his shoes around on the mat for a few minutes before ringing the doorbell. Maybe he hadn't knocked loud enough. His dad could have been upstairs. Tony stood for a few more minutes before sitting down on the doorstep. His dad wasn't here. Or he didn't want to see him after all and was avoiding opening the door. And his mom had left as soon as he had jumped out of the car and waved good bye, not wanting to see his dad again and trusting he would be there to meet her son.  
Tony stood up and knocked on the door again, hoping maybe his dad was home and just hadn't heard the previous knock or the bell. He pounded on the doorbell over and over, tears welling in his eyes. But nobody answered. The tears spilled over as he sat down, scared of being alone on a busy street. His only hope was that his mom would come to pick him up soon. 


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:  
Mistoffelees shook his head. Where did that memory had come from, he thought to himself. Never had he known a time without Deuteronomy, and he didn't know a boy named Tony. Or any other boys. Confused, Mistoffelees sat down where he was. His brain had felt fuzzy, like it was waking up from a deep, deep sleep. He wondered how Deuteronomy's face could have just rubbed off with a touch of his hand. When I touch my face, it stays on, he thought, running his fingers down his face to make sure. Chills ran down his spine. Shrugging it off for now, Mistoffelees ran to find Alonzo, Pouncival, and Victoria.  
"Alonzo? Pounce? Where are you guys?" Mistoffelees called. He saw a black and white spotted cat slink out from behind a couch, closely followed by a white and brown kitten. Alonzo and Pouncival.  
"So, what's your name?" the always cool Alonzo asked.  
"Where's Victoria? I want her to be here too," Mistoffelees protested. Alonzo smiled at his best friend.  
"I'll get her," Pounce, the hyper kitten, volunteered. As he ran off, Alonzo decided to question Mistoffelees about Victoria and their "friendship", but before he could his friend let out a sigh.  
"Alonzo, something really...weird just happened. I didn't want to say anything in front of Pounce."  
"What is it?" Alonzo forgot all about being nosy when he saw the serious, troubled look on his friend's face.  
"I was watching Deuteronomy. He scratched his face and when he took his paw away he didn't look like a cat any more. In fact, he looked a bit" Mistoffelees paused, "human." Alonzo gasped. He started to say something, but was interrupted by Victoria.  
"Hey guys. Pounce said you were looking for me."  
"Hi," Mistoffelees greeted her, signaling to Alonzo that they would talk later. "I wanted you to be here to hear my name."  
"Well," Pounce said impatiently, jumping up and down, "what is it?"  
"My new name is...Mistoffelees!"  
"That's a great name!" Victoria exclaimed. Alonzo nodded in agreement and Pounce did a handstand, clapping his feet together in the air. Mistoffelees grinned. He loved that his friends loved his name as much as he did.  
"And your nickname will be Misto," Alonzo declared. "Now, Misto and I are going to have some fun!" Alonzo told the others. Mistoffelees got the point.  
"Bye Vikki, bye Pounce. See you guys later," Mistoffelees called behind him. Alonzo led Mistoffelees to the inside of a hollowed out couch. The two sat down facing each other.  
"So, Deuteronomy looks like a human?" Alonzo questioned. Mistoffelees nodded. If any of the other cats had told him this, he wouldn't have believed them. But him and Misto had been best friends for 7 years. They never lied to each other.  
Mistoffelees looked worried. "And when I saw him looking...human," Mistoffelees finally got out, "I had this really weird memory. I remembered a little boy going to meet his dad for the first time, but the dad never came. The boy was so sad."  
"Why is that so weird? Alonzo asked, confused.  
"I don't know any boys. I've never left this house before."  
"You probably saw him outside," Alonzo suggested.  
"When have we seen outside, Alonzo? We aren't allowed outside, and we can't see outside from in the house," Misto reminded his friend.  
"Oh yeah." The two sat in silence, except for the light snoring of Rumpelteazer above them.  
"Well,' Alonzo said, breaking the silence at last, "we should tell Vikki and Pounce. The four of us can keep a close watch on him and look for anything that seems strange. If we see something else, we'll warn the rest of the cats." Mistoffelees nodded in agreement. The two went to find Vikki and Pounce. 


	5. Chapter 4

  
The next day the four kittens woke up early to start their watch on Deuteronomy. Victoria and Pouncival had both agreed to help Misto and Alonzo after hearing about yesterday's event.  
"Hey guys! I want to help!" Misto sighed as he heard the voice of Etcetera, one of the youngest kittens, behind him. She was almost as hyper as Pounce, which was probably why they were such close friends.  
"Pouncival! Why'd you tell?" Alonzo asked angrily.  
"Uh...well, you know guys. Um...." Pounce stuttered, unable to come with a suitable explanation to give his friends.  
"It's ok," Misto interrupted, not wanting a fight, "as long as Etcy didn't tell anybody." Etcetera shifted uncomfortably. "You didn't tell anybody else, right?"  
"Well, just Electra. Who told Jemima, who told Demeter."  
"Who told Bombalurina who told everybody else, right?" Alonzo concluded. Etcetera nodded. Mistoffelees groaned. Now all the cats probably thought he was some kind of loon.  
"Well, too late now. Let's get started," Misto said. All the other cats present followed him out of the room. Tantomile, Coricopat, Cassandra, and Tumblebrutus met them outside Deuteronomy's bedroom door, where Munkustrap, Demeter, and Jemima were already waiting. Everybody stared at Mistoffelees.  
"Um," Misto began, realizing that they were waiting for his instruction, "we'll pair off, I guess." He took a quick count of who was there. "Ok, Etcetera and Pounce, Alonzo and Munku, Jemima and Demeter, Tant and Cori, Cassie and Tumble, and that leaves me and Vikki," he paused to smile at her before continuing, "We'll stay in our pairings throughout the day. When you talk to the others, tell them to find a partner." Everybody nodded. They walked off in their pairs and went to eat their breakfast before Deuteronomy woke up.  
Jemima, who had been watching Deuteronomy's door with Demeter, ran over to where Victoria and Misto were eating their tuna a few minutes later.  
"He's up." was all she said before running off. That was all she needed to say. Misto and Vikki tensed up, but went to help her spread the word. For the rest of the day, every feline in the house would be silently watching Deuteronomy, trying to act as normal and inconspicuous as they could. 


	6. Chapter 5

  
At the end of the long day, after Deuteronomy had gone to bed, all the cats and kittens met in the room Bombalurina, Demeter, Jemima, Electra, and Etcetera shared to tell what, if anything, they saw that was suspicious.  
"Did anybody see anything at all today?" Misto asked. He didn't think anybody would of. After all, they had lived with Deuteronomy their whole lives. They would have noticed something before if there were anything to see. That's why he was surprised when Mungojerrie raised his hand.  
"Oy noticed tha' when 'e reached up to get tuna out of the cupboard, 'is fur lifted up and 'e 'ad a human foot," Mungo told the rest in his Cockney accent. Pounce got a look in his eyes, like he was seeing something far away. Misto was pretty sure he was having a memory.  
"Do you guys remember shoes?" Pounce looked surprised at the words that came out of his mouth, but several more cats got that same look in their eyes. Victoria was the first to come back.  
"I do remember Pounce. Mine were pink and white." Everyone turned to stare at her. She blushed bright red, very noticeable under her white face. She looked down, embarrassed at just spurting that out of nowhere.  
"Mine were blue," Pounce shared, taking the attention off of Victoria. Mistoffelees shuddered, not liking the look on his friends' faces. He decided to look at Tumblebrutus while he talked instead.  
"Well, did anybody see anything else?" Misto asked the others, avoiding looking at Pouncival and Victoria. He dreaded asking the question, in case somebody did. The look on the faces was hard for him to watch. Nobody said anything, so everybody went back to their own rooms to sleep, and ponder over what was revealed about Deuteronomy so far, what was to come, and what the heck shoes were. 


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

Tony was getting new shoes for his first day of kindergarten. He followed his mom into the shoe store, inhaling the leathery scent of all the new shoes. His mom led him to the section of the store where Tony was going to be able to pick his own shoes. Excited, he carefully examined every shoe within his reach. After about an hour of peering into shoeboxes, and many sighs from his mother, Tony picked out a pair of brownish shoes with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the sides. He proudly showed his choice to his mother. She nodded in approval and took the box from him. Once the shoes had been paid for, she allowed him to wear the shoes out of the store. Tony grinned all the way home. 


	8. Chapter 7

  
  
Mistoffelees woke up as the sun was rising the next morning. Everyone was still going to be watching Deuteronomy today, but not as closely as they did yesterday. Some of the fun and mystery had worn off since the day before for some of the cats.  
Misto went into the kitchen for breakfast. The rest of the kitchen was deserted. He heard the door to Deuteronomy's room creak open, then closed. Then the door to the litter box. Misto's ears perked. He didn't want to be watching Deuteronomy by himself. He quietly ran into his room and woke up Alonzo.

"Misto, what's wrong with you? Do you know how early it is?" Alonzo asked grumpily. Misto nodded his head.

"Deuteronomy's up. I didn't want to watch him alone. Please come." Alonzo groaned before pulling himself out of bed. They both went into the kitchen for breakfast. Soon, more cats were waking up. Deuteronomy still hadn't come out of the litter box. The cats decided they would stay in the same partners as yesterday, just so it wouldn't be too confusing. Deuteronomy walked into the kitchen, startling several kittens talking in a group around a bowl of tuna. They quickly raced out of the room. The rest of the cats quickly followed them, leaving half-eaten bowls of food for Deuteronomy to clean up. Misto and Victoria had the first shift of watching the old cat. They peaked around the corner to see Deuteronomy mumbling and bending over the bowls. Vikki leaned in to try to hear what he was saying. She couldn't get close enough though, and just kept leaning, till she fell right on her face. Deuteronomy turned around quickly. Misto grabbed Victoria's arm and dragged her off. Deuteronomy's eyes followed them around the corner, wondering what in the world that was all about. He shook his head before continuing the clean up.

"Victoria! What did you think you were doing!" Mistoffelees yelled after they were out of earshot of Deuteronomy.

"Sorry. I just wanted to hear what he was saying. I was trying to help you. I didn't mean to be seen," Victoria whispered, her eyes down. Misto sighed. He couldn't stay mad at her.

"It's ok. Sorry for screaming" Misto apologized. "I guess I'm just a bit nervous and worried about what's going on."

"I know. I forgive you. We're all worried. Especially after Pounce's shoe memory. I'm not the only one who remembered shoes you know. I'm just the one who said I did," Victoria explained. Mistoffelees nodded. He had had a feeling that was true. Now he knew for sure. It was nice to know that he wasn't the only crazy one. Vikki followed Misto to the kitchen again, where they were relieved to see Mungo and Teazer had taken over the watch. Those two were so sneaky, they would never get caught spying. Plus they could probably hear everything Deuteronomy was muttering. Vikki gasped as Teazer sneaked closer to Deuteronomy, but Misto reassured her that Teazer never got caught. That night, the cats met again after Deuteronomy was sleeping. Teazer said,

"Well, I can definitely support what Mungo told us about the foot thing. I got behind Deuteronomy and lifted up his fur. He's got two feet and two legs to go with 'em." Mungo nodded his support. Nobody spoke up if they remember anything, but Misto was positive somebody did remember something. He didn't push it though and neither did anybody else, so they all went to bed.


	9. Chapter 8

Once again, Misto was the first awake the next day. He didn't feel like eating tuna this early in the morning, so he just went to sit in the kitchen. Awhile later, as Misto was getting his tuna out of the cupboard, he heard the door to Deuteronomy's door open, about the same time as it did yesterday. The door to the litter box was opened and shut again. Misto poured his tuna into a bowl. Shortly after, another door opened. Then, again, the door to the litter box. Mistoffelees continued eating the tuna in his bowl. A few minutes later, Pounce staggered into the kitchen, looking dazed.  
"Pounce. What's wrong?" Mistoffelees asked, worried about his friend.  
"I'm not Pounce. I'm Kenny. Kenny Stevens," Pounce told Misto.  
"What are you talking about?" Mistoffelees was confused and even more worried than before. He knew Pounce always acted crazy, but never had he seemed mentally crazy. "Why don't you just eat your tuna."  
"And you're not really Mistoffelees. You're the boy from your memories," Pounce said, ignoring that Misto had even said anything. "Thank you for telling us about your memories. I was afraid of mine and kept them to myself. But you had the courage and now I know. Nobody here is who we think they are." Misto was starting to think that maybe Pounce was paranoid. "I remember. I remember everything. Deuteronomy, or whoever he is, he took us away. Away from our real parents and brothers and sisters. We don't belong here. We need to go the police." Mistoffelees was really scared now. He knew what Pounce was talking about now, but he didn't like it.  
"So, are you saying I'm Tony?" Misto asked quietly, finally fully realizing what was going on. Pounce nodded. "How do you know?"  
"Deuteronomy was in the litter box when I went in there. He was putting on make up, like my mom used to. I watched her when I was little. That's why you saw his face come off. It was make up. I saw him half-human though. No make up on half of his face. The make up and the human face, I just remembered. Think back as far as you can remember. Really try. Remember your parents and your siblings?" Misto thought back, to the days in the park. He remembered his mom always sitting on the same bench. Her hair was golden as it caught the rays of the sun. Her eyes twinkled blue as she looked up from whatever book she might have been reading to see how high her son could swing today.  
"I remember," Misto whispered, "I am Tony."  
"How old were you when you taken? I was five."  
"So was I. I had just started kindergarten a couple of days before. I had new shoes with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on them." The two chuckled, remembering the times before they came to live with Deuteronomy.  
"We need to call the police," Pounce repeated after the two were done exchanging memories.  
"9-1-1," Alonzo stated as he entered the kitchen. "I heard you guys. And I remember too. Not everything, but enough. My name was Gard. I prefer Alonzo," he said with a look of disgust on his face. As each cat came into breakfast, Pounce, Alonzo, and Mistoffelees helped them to remember. Almost every cat remembered their names, and they all preferred their cat names to their human names. The human names were just too plain. Nobody had names like their cat names.  
"Now all we need is the police. They can take us 'ome," Teazer, or Joy, reminded her friends in her cockney accent.  
"Where are we supposed to find a phone though?" Jemima, or Tessa, wondered.  
"Oy'll sneak out of the 'ouse and get 'elp," Rumpelteazer volunteered. Everybody else agreed. She was the sneakiest of them all.  
"Let's all go do our own thing now, so Deuteronomy won't be suspicious," Misto suggested. Each cat walked away from the kitchen. Electra went to distract Deuteronomy so Teazer could easily slip outside.  
Misto, Alonzo, Pounce, Etcy, Cassie, and Vikki were inside the couch when Teazer came back and announced she had done it. The lady next door was scared of her at first, but after Teazer had explained her story three times, she was allowed in. She had to beg the lady not to follow her back, but she hadn't, and the police were on their way. They would get their real names and take them home to their parents. That's when they all realized something. If they were taken home they might never see each other again.  
When the police opened the door, the first thing they noticed was the horrid smell of tuna and litter boxes. The second was about 15 cat children, all laying together on the dirty floor. Every head lifted to see who had entered the house, blinking in the bright sun. The two policemen looked at each other, realizing this wasn't a good situation.  
"Are you the ones who called us?" one of the policemen asked the children. A few of them nodded.  
"Then we'll need your names so we can find you parents." the second man told them. They all looked at each other, knowing that if they gave their real names they would be split up.  
Munkustrap, the oldest and the one they all looked up to, stood, so the rest followed. He walked up to the two men.  
"We don't all know our real names. It was so long ago. But I'm Blake Gorman," he said calmly. The rest of the cat children sighed and one by one told their names. Then the police had Munkustrap tell them about their past living with Deuteronomy. Alonzo had left to distract Deuteronomy now, and the rest just took turns whenever one cat couldn't come up with anything else.  
"Ok. Well, we'll be back for you after tracking down your parents. But for now, were going to try to get that make up off of you. Just then Mungojerrie ran into the room, but before somebody else could run back, Deuteronomy turned around the corner and froze. His jaw dropped. About to run, he turned around, but the two policemen grabbed his arms.  
"You're under arrest for kidnapping and brainwashing 17 children."  
"NO! These are my kitties! You can't take me away from them! They need me!" Deuteronomy was screaming as he was led out of the house into the back of the police car. The children stepped outside to wave to their Old Deuteronomy who was still screaming that they were his kitties, he didn't steal them, before one of the policemen drove away.  
"Come inside now kids. We'll get you cleaned up." They all hesitated, regretting ever telling on Deuteronomy, until Munkustrap said,  
"Do as he says. He knows what's best for us." All of the children followed him into the house, dragging their feet.


	10. Chapter 9

  
The next day, the policemen showed up again. They had given up on trying to wash the make-up off of the kids and decided to just let it come off naturally.  
Coricopat was the first realize the two men were back and warned the others. They all crowded around the window, Mistoffelees and Jemima pushing their way up front to see.  
Soon, more cars appeared and people got out, looking nervous as they tried to enter the house and were stopped by the police. Mistoffelees noticed that they had started to talk, so he opened the window.  
"Remember as you go in there and take your child home tonight, they've grown up as cats. It's all they know, I'm assuming, since they were all taken between the ages of three and five, and since they were then brainwashed. So they will behave a lot like cats. All they've eaten for about the last eight years is tuna, so that is probably all they will like at first until they are better adjusted. They are all attached, so getting together often will be important, and, if you can, take home one of the children whose parents couldn't be found." All the children looked around, hoping their parents were found, but that their friends' weren't so they could come home with them. "These kids have lived together for eight years. They look up too and only obey one of the other cats, err...kids, besides the one who kidnapped them, so you'll have to establish exactly who is in charge, but it may take awhile for them to adjust." Each parent nodded as they were let into the house.  
Upstairs, all the children hugged, hoping they would see each other again. Misto hugged Victoria last, as the parents rounded the corner to the room. Before they entered, Mistoffelees told Vikki he would never forget her.  
The children stood at one end of the room with the parents on the other. Misto saw his mother right away. She hadn't changed. Her eyes sparkled blue and her hair was still the golden he remembered, but she didn't recognize him anymore. She looked from face to face, trying to tell which one was her son. Her eyes rested on Mungojerrie for awhile, before she finally looked away. Mistoffelees looked at his friends. He could tell they recognized their moms and dads too, and were also disappointed to see that they weren't recognized. The parents couldn't tell who was their kid through the make up, and because they had grown up so much, so they just started calling out names.  
Tears were streaming down everybody's faces. Jemima, who was only three when she was taken, was scared of her mother and clung tight to Demeter, making her mother cry. Demeter clung to Jemima too, but that was because her mom didn't come. Neither did several other parents. The policemen told each child individually that their parents couldn't be found, but their friends were more than happy to take them home.  
Jemima's mom wailed, "I'll take Tessa's friend. Just please make Tessa come home with me!" Demeter looked down at Jemima. They smiled and said good-bye to everybody before being led downstairs.  
It was hard for Mistoffelees to say good-bye. He didn't get to take Alonzo or Pouncival, or anybody for that matter, home like Jemima got Demeter, and Etcetera got to have Electra come home with her. Vikki's parents had whisked her away before he got to say a real good bye to her. Alonzo had been surrounded by a group of excited relatives, all hugging him and crying. Misto couldn't get through the group to say good bye. Feeling sad because he couldn't say bye to his best friends, and because only his mom had come to welcome him, he looked up at his mothers smiling face. He hoped that his mom, and all the other parents, would listen to the police and let them get together. And one day, they could all run away together. Away from the strange world of humans. Back into the world of cats. 


End file.
